1. Field of the Invention
The field of this invention lies within the mobile home support art. More specifically, it lies within the art of supporting a mobile home during severe movements by means of specially adapted structural stanchions, cross members and underlayments for earthquake and wind storm protection.
2. The Prior Art
The prior art related to mobile home supports generally comprises the utilization of concrete piers or stanchions. The concrete piers are implaced under the frame of a mobile home after it has been towed to the location where it is to be set up. The mobile home is then either jacked or held in place at a sufficient level for lowering it onto the concrete piers. Generally, the wheels of the mobile home with the axle support approximately two thirds of the mobile home weight over the spring loaded axle thereof. In addition thereto, a towing tongue that would normally be analogous to a trailer hitch tongue is attached to the front of the mobile home and serves to support approximately one third of the weight of the mobile home during moving operations. Thus, approximately two thirds of the mobile home is supported during its movement over the load bearing axle members are approximately one third with respect to the tongue.
When the mobile home is towed into place it is generally disassociated from its tongue which is connected to underlying brackets having bolts holes that index in the forward part of the mobile home. Thereafter, the mobile home is either jacked or raised in an appropriate manner for placement of the piers under the home. The mobile home generally has a frame which accommodates the concrete piers in a number of different manners. Suffice it to say that the state of the art merely allows for load bearing on the respective concrete piers in a suitable manner.
The mobile home has wheels, wheeldrums, and axles as proviously alluded to that can be in the form of a wheeldrum attached to an axle that is common to the automobile and trucking industry. The wheeldrum rotates on a bearing surface as in the manner of automobile wheels and has a number of lug bolts for receipt of a wheel thereover.
Recently, it has been common to have what is known as an integral wheel and lug arrangement known as a doughnut configuration wherein a singular cup shaped member substitutes for the wheeldrum and the hub. The lug bolts of such doughnut wheeldrums are generally attached through the outside of the doughnut configuration for purposes of receiving the wheel or other member that is to be bolted thereto.
After the mobile home is ready for placement, the concrete piers are slid thereunder in the appropriate places and secured to the mobile home in a number of different manners, such as with bolts or other means for the mobile home to rest thereon.
The piers are generally formed like truncated four sided conical or pyramid members that have been truncated on top for receipt of a frame thereon. They have a spreading base for purposes of placement on the underlying ground or substrate. However, the securement is generally not sufficient for holding a mobile home under earthquake or violent wind forces, because of both the lateral and longitudinal movement, as well as the bouncing movement encountered during an earthquake.
For instance, it was found in the most recent California earthquake that a number of mobile homes were severely damaged because of the fact that they rocked back and forth and moved violently with respect to the movement of the earth. In that particular case, many of the mobile homes were crushed or the concrete piers were driven through the base of the mobile home. In other cases, the mobile home completely split or cracked after it had been moved backwardly and forwardly to the point where the mobile home was ruined. The instant invention overcomes the requirement of having substantial support, footings, or other devices that will not meet the code requirements while at the same time providing protection to a mobile home owner during earthquake and other severe conditions of movement.
In addition to the foregoing advantages against earthquakes, the invention is also of extreme importance during tornados, or violent wind storms to prevent a mobile home from shifting off its supports. It is known that many mobile home in the tornado belt or other areas of the midwest have been damaged severely by being blown over from their piers or shaken violently off their respective supports.
This invention meets the code requirements of the mobile homes not being secured to the ground in the form of a concrete footing, as well as providing a cheap and facile way of providing protection for the mobile home. Thus, it is a substantial step over the prior art and enables one to utilize the existing frame and support structure of the mobile home, while at the same time enhancing the overall protection to prevent the turning, twisting and displacement of the mobile home from its piers.